Keyra Espinoza Arroyo

Keyra Espinoza is junior majoring in Ecosystem Science and Policy, with a minor in International Studies and an Independent Minor in Native American and Global Indigenous Studies. She is an extraordinary scholar and engaged global citizen. Her accomplishments and innovative efforts to address climate issues and indigenous rights embody the desired qualities of a Newman Civic Fellow. Her involvement in these areas include storytelling, writing, and education on topics ranging from climate justice, intersectionality of Black and Indigenous people, and social equity. This past November, she organized and curated a series of projects in honor of Native American Heritage Month at the University of Miami, the first in 97 years. Espinoza has helped build awareness about environmental racism through her work with Roots and Routes, an organization based in the Choco Rainforest that addresses the impact of the palm oil industry on its mostly Black and Indigenous workers. She has also worked across Latin America building climate awareness among youth with the Polluters Out International Coalition. In her advocacy work, she draws on her life experiences as well as her academic interests in environmental policy and international studies to promote awareness of climate justice and indigenous rights.